EFTA00039998: United States Marshals Service Investigation of Jeffrey Epstein’s International Travel
A United States Marshals Service investigation examined whether Jeffrey Epstein violated federal law by failing to disclose all of his international travel as a registered sex offender.
The investigation began before Epstein’s July 2019 arrest. Federal investigators found that Epstein reported a trip to France but apparently did not disclose stops in Austria and Monaco.
The Marshals Service sought flight records, international assistance, and authority to search historical information connected to Epstein’s telephone. Investigators also interviewed an air traffic controller who reported seeing Epstein arrive in the United States Virgin Islands with girls who appeared to be minors.
After Epstein died in federal custody on August 10, 2019, the Marshals Service canceled the telephone search warrant, canceled international assistance requests, stopped every investigative activity, and closed the case.
The complete United States Marshals Service file appears in Epstein Data file EFTA00039998.
Snapshot
Agency: United States Marshals Service
Subject: Jeffrey Edward Epstein
Agency file number: 10127184
Investigation number: CC 1900 0613 7745 G
Investigation type: International Megan’s Law compliance
Potential federal violation: Failure to report international travel
Relevant statute: 18 USC 2250 subsection b
Aircraft: N212JE
Countries examined: France, Austria, Monaco, and Morocco
Investigation initiated: 2019
Investigation closed: August 2019
Reason for closure: Epstein’s death in federal custody
Primary evidence file: EFTA00039998
Key Takeaways
The Marshals Service investigated whether Epstein failed to report all international destinations as required of a registered sex offender.
Epstein reported that he would travel to France from March 19 through March 29, 2019.
Flight tracking information indicated that his aircraft also traveled to Vienna and Monaco during that period.
Austria and Monaco were not listed on the travel notification described in the Marshals Service report.
Investigators began seeking information from France, Austria, Monaco, and Morocco.
The Marshals Service requested flight records from Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Epstein’s pilots.
An investigator submitted a proposed search warrant concerning the telephone number Epstein provided for use during international travel.
The Federal Aviation Administration supplied records revealing additional international destinations.
An air traffic controller reported seeing Epstein disembark with girls who appeared to be as young as eleven or twelve.
After Epstein died, investigators canceled the telephone warrant, canceled the international requests, and closed the case.
Why Epstein Had to Report International Travel
Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to offenses involving the solicitation of prostitution and procuring a person under eighteen for prostitution.
The conviction required him to register as a sex offender.
The Marshals Service file describes Epstein as a lifetime registrant in Florida and a Level 3 sex offender in New York. Level 3 is New York’s highest risk classification.
Epstein listed his primary sex offender registration address in the United States Virgin Islands. The file also identified addresses connected to him in Florida, New York, New Mexico, and Paris.
International Megan’s Law and related federal registration laws require qualifying sex offenders to provide advance notice of international travel.
The purpose of the reporting requirement is to help authorities monitor international movement and notify destination countries when appropriate.
The First Marshals Service Investigation
A Marshals Service report dated January 8, 2019, states that the Southern District of New York referred Epstein to the agency’s International Megan’s Law Unit.
The referral described Epstein as a convicted sex offender who traveled internationally with unusual frequency.
Investigators suspected that he had not reported every international trip.
The Marshals Service opened an investigation to determine whether Epstein violated 18 USC 2250 subsection b.
That statute addresses certain failures by registered sex offenders to provide required international travel information.
The opening report is included in EFTA00039998.
Epstein’s March 2019 Travel Notice
On March 15, 2019, Epstein appeared at the United States Virgin Islands Department of Justice on St. Thomas.
According to the Marshals Service report, he met with the Sex Offender Registry Coordinator and signed a notification explaining his duty to report international travel.
On March 19, the Marshals Service received notice that Epstein planned to travel to France.
The notification stated that he would travel from March 19 through March 29 aboard private aircraft N212JE.
France was the only foreign country listed in the travel notification described by investigators.
The Vienna Flight
The Marshals Service compared Epstein’s travel notification with public aircraft tracking information.
Investigators found that Epstein’s aircraft traveled to Vienna, Austria, on March 22, 2019.
Austria was not listed on the notification form.
The discrepancy became part of the basis for a new investigation approved on June 13, 2019.
The relevant investigative report appears within EFTA00039998. The specific report page carries Bates number EFTA00040001.
The Monaco Flight
Investigators also found that Epstein’s aircraft traveled to Monaco on March 27, 2019.
Monaco was not listed on the travel notification described in the Marshals Service report.
The apparent travel to Vienna and Monaco created evidence that Epstein’s declared itinerary may have been incomplete.
The investigation sought to determine whether those omissions constituted a federal reporting violation.
The reports document suspected noncompliance. They do not contain a final charging decision or judicial finding that Epstein violated the statute.
Aircraft N212JE
The aircraft identified in the travel notice was N212JE.
The United States Virgin Islands complaint against the Epstein estate identified N212JE as a Gulfstream aircraft owned through Plan D LLC.
Plan D LLC was one of the entities connected to Epstein’s aircraft operations.
The government alleged that Epstein used aircraft and corporate entities to transport young women and girls between his properties.
The Marshals Service investigation focused on whether Epstein accurately disclosed the countries he visited. It was separate from the federal sex trafficking prosecution filed in July 2019.
The Miami Herald Interview
On June 24, 2019, two Marshals Service investigators met with a Miami Herald investigative reporter in Hollywood, Florida.
The reporter’s name is redacted in the public file. The circumstances indicate that the reporter was working on Epstein related investigations and had access to potential witnesses.
The reporter told investigators about an airport employee who had seen Epstein traveling with girls who appeared to be minors.
According to the report, the witness had seen girls travel by helicopter from Little St. James to the St. Thomas airport before boarding Epstein’s aircraft.
The reporter said the witness might possess text messages sent to friends after observing the events.
This interview occurred before Epstein’s July 6, 2019 arrest.
The Air Traffic Controller’s Account
A Marshals Service investigator contacted the air traffic controller by telephone on July 10, 2019.
The witness said Epstein parked his aircraft near the base of the control tower when he arrived at the St. Thomas airport.
She told the investigator that she saw Epstein disembark with young girls on at least two occasions.
During one incident, she saw two girls who appeared to be approximately eleven or twelve years old.
During another incident, she saw a girl who appeared to be approximately sixteen to eighteen.
The witness placed these observations between approximately June or July 2018 and November 2018.
She said she observed Epstein from about fifty yards away while using binoculars.
The interview appears in EFTA00039998.
What the Air Traffic Controller Could Not Establish
The air traffic controller told investigators that flight plans generally contained aircraft and route information.
She said the records available to controllers did not normally contain complete passenger information.
Her observations therefore did not identify the girls or establish why they were traveling with Epstein.
The report documents what the witness believed she saw. It does not contain photographs, passenger manifests, identity records, or interviews with the girls.
The statement is still significant because it placed apparently underage girls around Epstein’s aircraft during 2018, a decade after his Florida conviction.
The International Investigation Expands
Two Marshals Service investigators traveled to the United States Virgin Islands on July 14, 2019.
They were working on an operation involving International Megan’s Law.
On July 17, an investigator discussed submitting Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty requests to France, Monaco, Austria, and Morocco.
These requests would have allowed United States authorities to seek evidence and assistance from foreign governments.
The inclusion of Morocco indicates that investigators were examining travel beyond the France, Vienna, and Monaco itinerary described in the initial report.
Requests for Flight Records
On or around July 19, investigators contacted Customs and Border Protection about obtaining records for Epstein’s private aircraft.
Customs and Border Protection reportedly advised that the investigators might obtain the records from the pilots or the Federal Aviation Administration.
Flight records could have helped establish the aircraft’s destinations, timing, route, and possible deviations from Epstein’s reported itinerary.
The report does not state that investigators obtained a complete passenger manifest.
The Proposed Telephone Search Warrant
On July 22, 2019, a Marshals Service investigator submitted a proposed search warrant concerning the telephone number Epstein had provided for use during international travel.
The investigator hoped that historical telephone information would reveal additional countries Epstein visited.
The telephone evidence could also have helped investigators compare Epstein’s movements with his required travel notifications.
The public file does not show that the search warrant was executed.
It was later canceled after Epstein’s death.
Federal Aviation Administration Records
On August 5, 2019, the Marshals Service received flight plan history from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The investigator wrote that the information revealed numerous additional countries visited by Epstein’s aircraft.
The report stated that the newly identified travel would be investigated further.
The file does not provide a complete public list of the additional countries uncovered through the Federal Aviation Administration records.
Five days later, Epstein died at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.
Epstein’s July 2019 Arrest
Epstein was arrested on July 6, 2019, after arriving at Teterboro Airport aboard a flight from Paris.
Federal prosecutors charged him with sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of minors.
The 2019 federal indictment alleged that Epstein sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls at his properties in New York and Florida.
The arrest occurred while the Marshals Service investigation into his international travel reporting was still active.
The separate travel investigation continued for several weeks after he entered federal custody.
Epstein’s Federal Custody Record
The attached Marshals Service file includes Epstein’s federal identification, arrest, processing, warrant, and detention records.
The records identify him as Jeffrey Edward Epstein and assign him Marshals Service prisoner number 76318 054.
The file records multiple addresses, passport numbers, aircraft related travel documents, sex offender registration information, and federal case records.
Personal identification numbers and other protected information are partly redacted.
The file also contains copies of the 2019 indictment and documents related to Epstein’s transfer into federal custody.
The Investigation Was Canceled
A Marshals Service memorandum dated August 19, 2019, records the decision to terminate the investigation.
The memorandum states that Epstein died in custody on August 10.
On August 12, a senior inspector spoke with the United States Attorney’s Office in the Virgin Islands.
According to the memorandum, all parties agreed that the international travel case would be dropped.
The telephone search warrant was canceled.
The Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty requests to every country were canceled.
Every remaining investigative activity was canceled.
The file states that the case was closed.
What Was Lost When the Case Closed
The investigation had not reached its planned conclusion.
Investigators had received Federal Aviation Administration data showing travel to additional countries.
They were attempting to obtain foreign records from France, Austria, Monaco, and Morocco.
They were seeking historical telephone evidence.
They were examining possible flight records from Customs and Border Protection, the pilots, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
They had also received a witness report concerning girls who appeared to be minors traveling through the St. Thomas airport with Epstein.
Closing the case meant that these investigative paths were not completed within the Marshals Service inquiry.
Why Epstein’s Death Did Not Eliminate Every Question
Epstein could no longer be prosecuted after his death.
However, the evidence sought through the travel investigation could have remained relevant to other inquiries.
Flight information, telephone records, international assistance, and passenger evidence could have identified witnesses, victims, facilitators, pilots, employees, or other people involved in Epstein’s travel.
The Marshals Service memorandum does not explain whether the unresolved leads were transferred to the FBI, the United States Attorney’s Office, or another investigative team.
It states only that the search warrant, international requests, and all investigative activities were canceled.
Connection to the Virgin Islands Lawsuit
The Government of the United States Virgin Islands later cited Epstein’s incomplete March 2019 travel disclosure in litigation against his estate.
The government alleged that Epstein reported travel to France but failed to disclose the Vienna and Monaco stops.
The Virgin Islands complaint EFTA00016836 incorporated the travel discrepancy into a broader description of concealment by the Epstein enterprise.
The complaint also alleged that Epstein’s aircraft and corporate entities were used to transport young women and girls.
These are civil allegations. They do not replace the canceled federal investigation or establish a criminal conviction for violating international travel reporting requirements.
International Megan’s Law
International Megan’s Law was enacted to improve notification and cooperation when registered sex offenders travel outside the United States.
The law requires qualifying registrants to provide information about intended international travel.
Federal authorities can share that information with destination countries and investigate willful failures to comply.
The Marshals Service file shows that Epstein signed a notice acknowledging his travel reporting obligations only days before the March 2019 trip.
That signed notice would have been relevant to whether any omission was knowing or willful.
The investigation ended before prosecutors made a final charging decision.
What the File Confirms
Epstein was required to register as a sex offender.
He was classified as a Level 3 offender in New York.
He reported planned travel to France from March 19 through March 29, 2019.
His aircraft traveled to Vienna and Monaco during that period.
Austria and Monaco were not listed on the travel notice described in the Marshals Service report.
The Marshals Service opened an investigation into possible noncompliance with federal travel reporting law.
Investigators sought flight, telephone, and foreign government records.
An air traffic controller reported seeing Epstein with girls who appeared to be minors.
Federal Aviation Administration records revealed additional international destinations.
The investigation was closed after Epstein’s death.
The telephone search warrant and international assistance requests were canceled.
What the File Does Not Confirm
The file does not contain a final judicial finding that Epstein violated 18 USC 2250 subsection b.
The file does not provide a complete list of every country identified through Federal Aviation Administration records.
The air traffic controller did not identify the girls she observed.
The public file does not establish whether the girls were passengers on every segment of Epstein’s travel.
The report does not establish that the girls were trafficked.
The file does not show whether other federal investigators pursued the canceled travel leads.
The record does not explain why every investigative request was canceled instead of being transferred to another inquiry.
Why This Investigation Matters
The Marshals Service file documents an active federal investigation that was uncovering new information about Epstein’s international movements shortly before his death.
The investigation had moved beyond a simple paperwork discrepancy.
Investigators were comparing sex offender notices with aircraft data, seeking records from four foreign countries, pursuing telephone evidence, and interviewing a witness who reported seeing Epstein with girls who appeared to be minors.
The decision to close the investigation ended multiple unfinished evidence trails.
The file therefore provides important evidence about what federal authorities were investigating, what records they had begun to obtain, and which questions remained unanswered after Epstein died.
Sources
- United States Marshals Service File EFTA00039998
- International Travel Investigation Report EFTA00040001
- Virgin Islands Complaint EFTA00016836
- United States Marshals Investigation Timeline
- United States Marshals Service International Megan’s Law Program
- 18 USC 2250
- Jeffrey Epstein
- International Megan’s Law
- Epstein Flight Logs
- Epstein Flight Manifests
- Little St. James
- Great St. James
- 2019 Federal Indictment
- Epstein Federal Custody
Epstein Data Supporting Documents
Case Closure Memorandum EFTA00039998 documents the decision to cancel the telephone search warrant, cancel every international assistance request, stop all investigative activity, and close the case after Epstein’s death.
Air Traffic Controller Interview EFTA00039999 records the witness’s statement that she saw Epstein leave his aircraft with two girls who appeared to be eleven or twelve and another girl who appeared to be approximately sixteen to eighteen.
Second Page of the Air Traffic Controller Interview EFTA00040000 completes the Marshals Service interview and confirms that available flight plan information did not identify passengers.
International Travel Investigation Approval EFTA00040001 documents Epstein’s reported trip to France and the alleged undisclosed stops in Vienna and Monaco.
International Investigation Update EFTA00040002 documents the planned international requests to France, Monaco, Austria, and Morocco, the request for flight records, the proposed telephone search warrant, and the Federal Aviation Administration information revealing additional countries visited by Epstein’s aircraft.
Miami Herald Reporter Interview EFTA00040003 records the reporter’s account of an airport witness who allegedly saw girls travel by helicopter from Little St. James to Epstein’s aircraft.
Second Page of the Miami Herald Interview EFTA00040004 completes the reporter interview and records that the investigation remained active.
Original International Megan’s Law Investigation Approval EFTA00040005 documents the January 8, 2019 referral and the opening of the Marshals Service investigation into Epstein’s possible failure to report international travel.
Complete Eight Page Marshals Service Evidence File EFTA00039998 contains the full sequence from EFTA00039998 through EFTA00040005.